recovery_target

recovery_target can be set to “immediate” to end recovery as soon as a consistent state is reached. It is a postmaster setting present in PG12–18; the latest recorded boot default is empty.

Note

Fact — official short description: “Set to “immediate” to end recovery as soon as a consistent state is reached.”

Identity

Type , Valuestring: Upstream pg_settings type
Context , Valuepostmaster: Requires a server restart
Unit , Value—: Raw unit
Range , Value—: Raw limits in the last observed version
Enum values , Value—: — for non-enum types
Category , ValueWrite-Ahead Log / Recovery Target: Upstream classification
Latest boot value , Value"": empty string

Lifecycle

Fact	Value
First observed	PG12
Present in	PG12–19 Beta 3
Removed in	No
Introduction commit	`2dedf4d9a899` — Integrate recovery.conf into postgresql.conf
Commit date	2018-11-25
Discussion	thread 1

Default history

Measured PG9.0–19 Beta 3 boot defaults
Versions	Raw `boot_val`	Unit	Human value
PG12–19 Beta 3	`""`	—	empty string

How it works

Set to “immediate” to end recovery as soon as a consistent state is reached. The value is fixed when the server starts, so changing it requires a restart.

The only accepted value is immediate, which stops targeted recovery at the first consistent point—normally the end of an online base backup. It is mutually exclusive with the LSN, name, time, and XID target selectors.

At most one of recovery_target, recovery_target_lsn, recovery_target_name, recovery_target_time, and recovery_target_xid may be set; timeline, inclusive, and action are modifiers. Rehearse from the same base backup through a complete WAL chain—an unreachable target makes targeted recovery fail.

Tuning advice

Tip

Advice. These are workload-specific starting points and must be validated with measurements.

Workload	Guidance
OLTP	This is not a steady-state performance knob. Set recovery_target only on an isolated recovery instance after recording target evidence, base backup, timeline, and expected boundary; rehearse and require a second-person review.
OLAP	For a large restore, budget WAL replay and inspection time first. Validate the reached point read-only; do not let heavy analytical queries delay or contaminate the recovery decision.
Small nodes	Prefer a backup tool that generates a controlled recovery configuration. Never leave target settings in ordinary primary/standby templates, and clean up signal files and targets afterward.

Pigsty

Values use the fixed 8-vCPU, 32-GiB, 100-GiB SSD fixture and render the current Pigsty templates for PG19 Beta 3; this does not assert current Pigsty support for that historical or beta release.

Template	Effective value	Versus upstream boot	Source expression
OLTP	Unmodified	—	—
OLAP	Unmodified	—	—
CRIT	Unmodified	—	—
TINY	Unmodified	—	—

Caution

Advice — pending human review. Fact from the current Pigsty template projection: OLTP: PG12–19 Beta 3 unmodified; OLAP: PG12–19 Beta 3 unmodified; CRIT: PG12–19 Beta 3 unmodified; TINY: PG12–19 Beta 3 unmodified. No Pigsty-specific rationale is inferred from an absent override.

Common pitfalls

Setting immediate together with an LSN, name, time, or XID selector.
Confusing the first consistent point after an online backup with the desired business recovery point.
Leaving immediate in a normal standby configuration and ending recovery unexpectedly.
Starting without recovery.signal and assuming the target will control crash recovery.
Assuming success when the required WAL chain never reaches a consistent point.

recovery_target_time · recovery_target_xid · recovery_target_lsn · recovery_target_name · recovery_target_inclusive · recovery_target_action